The Words I Remember

The Words I Remember

There are very few times in my life when I’m honestly listening to and focused on the words someone is speaking. I can think of a couple off the top of my head: One of the times is when I’m talking with a friend or family member. Another time is when someone is telling me directions to a location. There is, however, one other time when I’m truly listening and its existence caught my attention today. While finishing up my dinner tonight, I suddenly remembered a phrase that a teacher had said to me over a year ago. Now, fortunately for me, this isn’t the first time I’ve remember something a teacher has said. This particular instance was different. Sure, in the past, I’ve remembered test answers or lines such as, “Never place a quote and let it stand; always use it to your advantage,” which was something an early writing teacher of mine had told me. But never had the words of a teacher echoed within my head so resoundingly like this specific line did. Perhaps it’s because I wonder if it’s true; or, perhaps because I know it isn’t. But when Mr. Amacher said, “Truth. What is Truth? That’s just it; no one can ever find it,” I was left wondering.

A Quest for Truth

Have you ever had one of those moments where, as you’re hearing something, you know you’re going to remember it forever? Now, I don’t just mean the words—I’m talking about remembering where you were, who was with you, and the context in which it was spoken? This was one of those moments for me. Sure, there are right and wrong answers to test questions—but that’s not the kind of truth I’m talking about; that’s not the kind of truth Mr. Armacher was talking about. What if there was a truth that unlocked everything and let the whole world make sense? Picture a kind of truth that held the key to true joy, true love, true peace, and true life. Imagine a kind of truth that, once you held it, you distanced yourself immeasurably from the people who didn’t have the truth—yet it was so simple to get. This was the kind of truth my teacher was talking about. It’s the kind of truth most people don’t believe exists.

Do I believe it exists? Do you believe it exists? Before we answer those questions, we must understand that, if it does exist—if there is a Truth that holds true joy, love, peace and life in its hands—it changes everything. We can’t discover something this beautiful—this great—and walk away saying, “Hmm, that was cool. Where’s the closest Starbucks?” If there is a Truth in our time that, once held, makes all the difference in the world, and if this Truth is so hidden, yet so simple to get, wouldn’t we seek to know it with all our minds and hearts? And, once we had a glimpse of this Truth—this Truth that no one believes could possibly exist—wouldn’t we be so eager, so willing, and so enthusiastically ready to show the world that it did exist and what it means for them?

Two Questions

I’ll leave us both with two final questions. Because the Truth is so important, these two questions mean everything for you and me. First, what does it mean to believe in something? Perhaps a better way to look at this is by saying: How does believing in something change the way you act? For instance, I’ve yet to meet someone who didn’t believe the sun would rise in the morning. How does this change the way they act? Well, they’re banking on the sun rising. They’ve planned everything around the sun rising in the morning in such a way that, if the sun didn’t rise and tomorrow didn’t happen, they’d be totally ruined. They don’t sit around storing up Vitamin D just in case the sun doesn’t rise—they’re completely banking on it happening. This is what it means to truly believe in something. If you’re not willing to put all your eggs in one basket, then you don’t truly believe. Now that we know what it means to believe, I’m led to my second question for us both: Do you believe in the Truth—the Truth that most people don’t believe can ever be found; the Truth that most people will never find?

"I am the way and the truth and the life"